CULLOWHEE, N.C. – The UNCG men's basketball team battled hard Saturday evening but the Spartans suffered an 82-72 loss at Western Carolina in Southern Conference action at the Ramsey Center. The Spartans return to action Wednesday night as they host league newcomer VMI at the Greensboro Coliseum at 7 p.m.

Redshirt sophomore center R.J. White (Frisco, Texas/Frisco) notched his league-leading sixth double-double of the season to lead the way for UNCG. White finished with a team-high 22 points while grabbing 10 rebounds and was also a force on the defensive end with a career-high six blocked shots. He finished the night 6-of-13 from the field, including a pair of 3-pointers, while hitting 7-of-11 from the free throw line.

Junior forward Kayel Locke (Baltimore, Md./McDonogh) added 19 points and six rebounds in the loss as he was 5-of-11 from the field and hit 9-of-11 at the free throw line. Sophomore guard Diante Baldwin (Greensboro, N.C./High Point Christian) rounded out the Spartans in double figures at 14 points while also grabbing eight rebounds and handing out five assists.

The short-handed Spartans played without the services of sophomore guard and leading scorer Tevon Saddler (Aberdeen, Md./St. Frances Academy). Saddler is out indefinitely with a left knee injury suffered during the Furman game Thursday. He has been the Spartans' leading scorer this year at 15.8 points per game, including 20.3 points per game in league play. Freshman guard Marvin Smith (Richmond, Va./Fork Union Military Academy) made his first career start despite entering the game with only 42 minutes played. Smith finished with six points in 23 minutes of action.

The Spartans finished the game shooting 35 percent (21-of-60) from the field and 29.2 percent (7-of-24) from long range in the loss. UNCG was strong at the free throw line though, connecting on 76.7 percent (23-of-30) while WCU only hit 62.5 percent (20-of-32) from the charity stripe. The Catamounts connected on 50 percent (26-of-52) from the field and hit 52.6 percent (10-of-19) from 3-point land in the victory.

Mike Brown led Western Carolina with a career-high 27 points and seven rebounds as he was 8-of-12 from the field and 9-of-14 from the free throw line. Torrion Brummitt and Rhett Harrelson added 15 points apiece while Devin Peterson added 12 points.

The Spartans scored the first five points of the game to take the early lead as Baldwin scored in transition and Locke converted an old-fashioned 3-point play. Western Carolina started to hit from the outside and slowly took the lead. The Catamounts scored five straight points to take a 26-17 lead as Harrelson hit a 3-pointer after a UNCG committed a turnover in the back court. Western Carolina extended the lead to 38-25 with a 9-3 run as Harrelson again hit from the outside.

White scored at the buzzer to send the Spartans into the locker room trailing 38-27. UNCG shot just 25 percent (8-of-32) from the field and was just 1-of-9 (11.1%) from long range in the first 20 minutes. Locke led the way with 10 points in the first half while White added eight. Western Carolina on the other hand connected on 54.2 percent (13-of-24) from the field and hit 7-of-12 (58.3%) from long range. Harrelson led the way with 12 points in the first half as he hit four 4-pointes while Brown chipped in 10 points.

The Catamounts came out in the second half and posted an 11-2 run to take a 56-38 lead with just under 12 minutes remaining in the game. Peterson started the run with back-to-back jumpers while Brown scored five points in the stretch, including the capping 3-pointer.

The Spartans had one final push as they posted a 14-4 run to narrow the deficit to seven at 79-72 in the final minute. Locke began the run with a basket in the paint while Baldwin hit four free throws during the stretch as UNCG forced WCU into a pair of turnovers. Smith and sophomore Clay Byrd (Connelly Springs, N.C./East Burke) hit back-to-back 3-pointers to narrow the gap to seven but the Catamounts were able to hit enough free throws to seal the victory.

-UNCG-